Brian Connor works as an executive in his family's San Francisco based multi-billion dollar tech business, Connor Tech. His focus on work looks to be the reason for the break-up with his fiancéee, Julie, he missing their engagement party for work being the last straw for her in their five-year relationship. To get away from the memory of Julie, Brian decides to head to Seabrook, Maine - just outside of Portland - to work his magic on a recently acquired web hosting company. Uncertain of how long he will be in New England, he decides to lease a place to live in downtown Portland rather than rent or stay in a hotel. Against Brian's upscale urban sensibility, the realtor, Keenan O'Dwyer, convinces him to buy what looks to be a vastly undervalued rural cottage just outside of Seabrook. He buys it despite it being neglected due to not having been lived-in in years and thus not move-in ready, and both O'Dwyer and the owner, Mr. Kilgore, seeming to be a bit too eager to wash their hands ...